Ricochet
by scoobydooad5545
Summary: After fighting Angeal, Zack falls from the plate and lands in the church in the slums, where he meets Aerith before slipping into a coma. Aerith is the only one who can hear his thoughts and talk to him while he is in a coma. There's only one problem: his girlfriend Cissnei. But then Angeal and Genesis start showing up in his hospital room too. Ch. 5 is up! Zack/Aerith Cloud/Tifa
1. Chapter 1 Name Calling

**Okay so this is the first chapter and I hope you all like it. The second chapter will be uploaded soon. Please R&R!**

Chapter 1 Name Calling.

Aerith watched in terror as the SOLDIER was placed on a gurney and rushed through the halls, slamming through swinging doors as they went. She tried to follow them, but a nurse blocked her way, saying something she couldn't hear. She tried to blink and focus and she finally heard what the woman was saying.

"Are you family?"

It took her awhile to respond and she stuttered as she replied, "N…no.. I just…met him…I…I don't even know his name."

She glanced at the nurse and was surprised to see shock written on the woman's face. Frantically, Aerith clutched the woman's arm, asking, "You know him don't you? Please, tell me his name."

The woman responded gently as she pulled her arm from Aerith's death grip. "His name is Zack Fair. He's in SOLDIER 1st class."

Aerith turned away from the nurse, staring at the doors that the man's body had disappeared through. "Zack," she whispered under her breath.

She stood there for some time, right in front of the EMERGENCY doors, not noticing the hustle and bustle around her or that the nurse had disappeared long ago. Later, in a daze, she made her way towards the waiting room. Once there, she collapsed into one of the chairs and promptly fell to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2 Waiting

**Alright, guys. Here's chapter 2 for you. Sorry that chapter one was so short. :/**

_Ch. 2 Waiting_

_At first, she had no idea what had happened. She had been minding her own business and tending and talking with her flowers one second, and then there was a man laying face-up in the middle of her bed of flowers the next. _

_ Aerith jumped back and away from him, startled. Glancing up at the roof of the church, she saw the only hole there was, the one that had always allowed sunshine to shine down on her flowers, and allowed her to glimpse the plate above. She looked back at the unconscious man, taking in his dark uniform; immediately knew that he was SOLDIER._

_ What was a SOLDIER doing all the way out here, she wondered as she studied his face, his firm jaw, his spiky black hair. And why did he drop from the sky?_

_ Aerith glanced back up at the hole to reassure herself that the sky wasn't falling down. A groan from the SOLDIER made her jump to her feet, and after a moment's hesitation, she carefully made her way towards him, making sure she didn't crush any flowers as she went. As she got closer, she noticed that he was more handsome up close than she had previously assumed. _

_ She continued to peer down at him, waiting to see if he would wake or not. But he didn't, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. _

_ "Hel-lloo!" she called down to him loudly._

_ The man's eyelashes started to flutter before they opened completely. Before she could see the color of his eyes, he closed them again, grimacing in pain. Patiently, she waited, and before long, he opened them again and stared directly into hers, making her gasp quietly._

_ His eyes were such a gorgeous combination of blue and green that they almost seemed to shimmer like a diamond. They were so blue, as blue as…what? She had never seen anything that compared to that shade of blue before._

_ In awe, she watched as his eyes focused on her, whereas they were glazed a second ago. She felt something tug at her heart and her cheeks started to warm as his face broke into a smile. "An angel?" he questioned._

_ She pulled back, feeling her own lips smiling in return. "No, silly. I'm Aerith."_

_ His eyelids started to droop as he tried to answer. "I'm Za…"_

"Zack Fair! SOLDIER 1st class! I need to know what room he's in!"

Aerith jerked awake, wincing as she jerked her neck as well, which had a kink in it from sleeping awkwardly. She tried to massage it with one hand as she glanced around, remembering that she was in the waiting room in the hospital.

Her gaze fell on a woman with red hair that stood in front of the Patient desk, arguing with the nurse that sat behind the desk. The red head wore a dark suit with fingerless gloves on her hands. Aerith recognized her as a Turk and she immediately tensed. What were they doing here? Were they looking for her?

Suddenly, two people ran and joined the Turk. One of them was an infantryman who still had his helmet on that covered his face, and the other was a woman with long, black hair and a face that resembled Zack's. She reached out and touched the Turk's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Cissnei, calm down. I'm sure he's fine."

The Turk turned her anger on her friend. "Don't tell me to calm down. Zack's my boyfriend, and I need to make sure he's okay!"

Aerith got up from her chair and made her way towards them, watching as the long, black haired woman retorted hotly, "And he's my brother."

She stopped a few feet away from the group, hesitant at approaching them. "Cissnei?"

Everyone turned to look at her. The Turk's glare that had appeared melted into confusion and Cissnei stepped towards her. "Aerith? What are you doing here?"

She bit her lip and pulled her braid forward so she could fidget with it. "I'm here for Zack."

The red head froze and gave her a wide-eyed stare. "What?" she questioned, outrage prominent in her voice.

Oops. That didn't sound right. She quickly tried to backtrack, saying, "I'm the one who brought him in. I'm just waiting to see if he's okay."

Relief softened Cissnei's gaze and she nodded at Aerith before turning back to the nurse behind the desk. The woman with black hair came closer and gave her a friendly squeeze before pulling back to look at her. "I'm Tifa, Zack's sister. Thank you so much for bringing him here. And that's Cloud in the helmet. He's a friend of Zack's but don't worry if he looks bored or out of it all the time. That's just the way he is."

"I'm Aerith."

Tifa tucked her arm through hers, pulling her towards the chairs. "Well, Aerith, why don't you tell us what my idiot brother did this time."

Aerith kept her eyes on her hands as she retold what happened, and by the time she was finished, Cissnei had joined them, wearing a thoughtful and yet perplexed look on her face.

"So…he just fell from the sky?"

Aerith turned to the infantryman, who sat next to Tifa and had finally taken off his helmet. When had that happened? She was surprised to see that is blonde hair still had some spike to it, and that he had the same color eyes as Zack. For some reason, her eyes flicked to Tifa, who was watching Cloud with interest, an emotion she couldn't name showing in her eyes.

Aerith nodded at Cloud's question. "I didn't even know his name till I got here."

"Mrs. Fair?"

Everyone turned to glance at the doctor that had come through the Emergency Doors. Everyone except Aerith, who looked at Tifa in shock. But Tifa just blushed slightly and corrected the doctor as she walked over to him. "Just Ms. actually. I'm Zack's sister."

The doctor nodded, but didn't say a word as the rest of the group got up and rushed over to them, eager to be a part of the discussion. "Don't worry, they're family," Tifa reassured him.

The doctor nodded once more before looking down at his clipboard. He ruffled through a few papers before stating in a monotone voice, "Zack has no broken bones, no internal bleeding, but he does have a mild concussion."

The group waited for him to continue, but he didn't, just kept his eyes glued to his papers. Cissnei finally burst out, "But?"

The doctor glanced at her in surprise, as if he forgot that they were there, but he quickly looked away. "But he's in a coma."


	3. Chapter 3 Imaginary

**Hey guys. Sorry it's taking so long to publish the new chapters. The site's giving me a hard time. :/ anyways, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.**

Ch. 3 Imaginary

Aerith stood in the doorway of room 781, unsure if she should go in or not. She had waited in the hallway for two hours until the group had left, sorrow and pain written on their faces. She had stared numbly at the sign that read ICU, not knowing why she was still there.

Now, she stood half in the room and half out of it, staring at Zack. He looked peaceful, just lying there on the hospital bed, as if he had no idea of what was happening around him. As if he had no idea of the emotional turmoil going on inside her.

And he didn't.

Finally, she made her way into the room, feeling shy. She pulled the only chair in the room closer to the bed before sitting, not taking her eyes off the sleeping man.

She couldn't stop staring at him.

Thankfully, he didn't have one of those tubes going down his throat, which meant he could breathe on his own. The heart monitor beeped steadily and numerous tubes that were attached to his arms helped provide all the necessary fluids.

Hesitantly, Aerith reached out and touched his left hand, the one closest to her and didn't have the finger clasp on it. She didn't grab it, instead running her finger over his skin, feeling how smooth it was.

_Who are you?_

She jerked back, pulling her hand away, staring at Zack in fright. Had he just…talked?

"Aerith."

Panicked, she whirled around in her seat, giving the doorway a wide-eye stare. A Turk with long, black hair pulled back into a ponytail stood there, watching her, and she relaxed just a fraction at seeing only the familiar Turk. But then she remembered all of the reasons why he was there and she turned away stoically. "What are you doing here, Tseng?"

"You know why," Tseng replied, letting out a sigh.

She scowled. "I don't need you to protect me."

He nodded absently. "Nevertheless. I'll be outside."

Tseng started to turn away, but something made him turn back to look at her. The girl sat slightly hunched in her chair, as is she was fighting off demons. Either way, she still had this glow about her that seemed to draw everyone straight to her. "I heard that if you talk to them, it helps bring them back." He hesitated. "He's my friend too, you know."

Aerith's eyes widened and she turned to the doorway in surprise, but Tseng was already gone. She frowned, worried. He had been there, right? She didn't just imagine him, right?

Turning back to the bed, she sighed, looking over the sleeping SOLDIER. "Bet you never have to worry about that, huh?"

The corner of his mouth twitched, but she didn't notice, again focusing on his hand. Once again, she reached out to touch his hand and almost pulled back at the last second, but restrained herself. Her fingers traced the protruding veins in his hand as she said, "And I'm Aerith, by the way."

_You're the angel._

Her hand froze as she tried to process where this voice was coming from. "Great," she muttered, going back to her tracing, "now I'm starting to hear voices."

_Nope, just mine._

A smile blossomed on her lips and she retorted tentatively, afraid she could end up breaking apart this delicate dream of hers, "And whose voice is this?"

_Mine. The guy on the bed. SOLDIER 1__st__ class Zack Fair._


	4. Chapter 4 Flowers and Wagons

**So I've still been having trouble posting the chapters online so bear with me. Fair Warning: I might try to draw this story out as long as possible. 3**

Ch. 4 Flowers and Wagons

Aerith rushed into the elevator and pressed herself against the wall nearest the buttons, tense, breathe caught in her throat. When the doors whirred shut, without anyone joining her in the claustrophobic space, she relaxed, a sigh escaping from her. She pushed the seventh button and rested her head against the cool steel wall, trying to calm her galloping heart.

She couldn't stop thinking about last night. After she had realized that she could hear Zack's thoughts, she had run from the room, ignoring Tseng's surprised look and shouts. Somehow, she'd made it home last night, even though she couldn't remember how. But it didn't really matter.

Because last night, the dream came.

Similar to how she couldn't remember getting home, Aerith couldn't remember that much of the dream. The fog had saturated everything; hiding and condensing every small and large detail that helped give dreams its charms. But she did remember one thing about it:

Zack's eyes.

That was all that mattered to her. She didn't care if she would ever recall the dream fully. As long as she was able to recall at least that much of it, she was happy.

The elevator dinged and the doors whisked open, startling her from her reprieve. She pushed herself out into the hallway, staying to one side of the corridor and hoping that her white dress would help her blend in with the whiteness of the walls around her.

778, 779, 780. Finally, she arrived at 781. She walked inside and almost jumped at seeing one member of the group she met yesterday there already. She glanced at the clock above the headboard, noting that it was only 6:34 AM. Glancing back at the bed, Tifa hadn't yet noticed her presence as she sat with her back to her, sitting in the same chair Aerith had been sitting in the night before. Cloud and Cissnei were mysteriously absent, and Aerith remembered that they probably had work today, since it was Monday.

Tifa turned to her startled, and smiled. She evacuated her chair. "Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only early bird around here," Tifa joked, trying in vain to lighten the mood.

Aerith managed a grin and Tifa returned it in kind. The sister gestured to the chair, saying, "Here, take mine. I'm gonna go see if I can get another one."

Once she was gone, Aerith made her way to the bed but didn't sit down. Instead, she laid her hand on Zack's arm, surprised at its warmth.

_You_'_re_ _back._

She smiled, almost envisioning the smile that was prominent in his voice. "Yeah, sorry about last night. I didn't mean to run away like that," she whispered back.

_It's alright. I'm sure if I had just learned that I could hear someone's thoughts, especially someone who's in a coma, I would have bolted too._

Aerith chuckled softly, running her hand slowly along his muscular arm, feeling his finite and practically invisible hairs that covered his muscular arm. "You probably would've played along with it."

Tifa returned, pushing a rolling chair in front of her, and when she saw Aerith's hand on her brother's arm, she cocked an eyebrow at her. Blushing profusely, Aerith quickly removed her hand and sank into the chair behind her, not meeting Tifa's gaze. A chuckle from her made Aerith glance at her in shock and found a smile on Tifa's face. "You like him, don't you?" Tifa questioned, nodding at Zack.

She felt her blush deepen and she dropped her gaze, answering Tifa's question. The sister just laughed, finding something about the situation funny. "It's okay. Everyone does, _especially_ the girls."

Aerith's mouth spoke before she could stop it. "Doesn't that bug Cissnei?"

She looked up to see Tifa nod solemnly. "Yes. She gets really jealous every time he speaks to another woman. And that was a lot. But don't get me wrong," she said hurriedly, forcing her eyes from her brother, "he didn't do it on purpose. They just seemed to flock to him and he found it rude to not acknowledge them or anybody who came to see him."

Tifa kept talking, but Aerith barely heard her. She focused instead on Zack, trying to imagine that sharp, stabbing, painful feeling of jealousy that could turn any love sour. But she couldn't. Almost all of her life, she had only felt pity, not only for the people who lived on the street in the slums, but for herself too. She had no idea why. But for most of her life, she had covered that feeling up with her love for her flowers and she had thrived without that pity.

_Aerith?_

She jerked awake from her daydream and noticed that her fingers were touching Zack's on the bed. Her eyes flicked to Tifa, wondering if she had noticed her jump. The sister had and was giving her a worried look. "I asked you were you plant your flowers."  
Aerith frowned, confused. Had she mentioned anything about her flowers? She opened her mouth to ask her, but Tifa beat her to it, a sly smile playing on her face. "I noticed the dirt under your nails and yesterday you mentioned that Zack had landed in your bed of flowers."

_Is that what I landed in?_

Her eyes flicked to Zack before answering, "I have a bed of flowers in the church in the slums. It's the only place where they will grow in Midgar."

Tifa nodded, wonder written on her face. She was about to comment but then glanced at the clock and jumped out of the chair. "Shit! Sorry, I've got to go. I'm gonna be late to work. Hope to see you later."

Aerith watched her run out of the room and down the hall to the elevator before returning her attention to the comatose man on the bed. Her fingers barely rested against his still, and she thought about intertwining their fingers together. Warmth spread up her neck and set her cheeks aglow at the thought.

_So you like flowers, huh?_

She startled. She had forgotten that she could hear him. Could he hear her thoughts as well? The warmth on her cheeks deepened at the thought, and at the thought that she just had. "Yes. I like to talk to them about what happens and I tell them what I do during the day. They're really good listeners."

_Did you tell them about me?_

Unable to look at him, she glanced away as she answered, "I did, yes. And like usual, they didn't say anything. Didn't even bother to give me any advice about-." She quickly shut herself up, unable to comprehend that she almost told him about her crush on him.

_Advice? Advice about what?_

Aerith bit her lip, keeping her eyes on their hands as she finally gave into her desire. Their fingers intertwined, his limp in hers. "That's for me to know, and for you to never find out," she teased. "Anyways, how did you fall out of the sky?"

_Wow, that was subtle. But I'll play along._

She smiled in triumph and sat back in her chair. The only way for her to be comfortable was for her to pull his hand into her lap as she listened to him explain. Zack talked about his friend and mentor, Angeal, and how he had disappeared. How he and Sephiroth went and found Angeal with Genesis, who was another 1st class that had deserted. She listened as he talked about Angeal and how he had attacked him. That was why he fell from the sky. His voice had gotten quieter the more he talked and now his voice faded out. She sat up, squeezing his hand, worried. "Zack?"

_Yeah…._

His voice portrayed that he was sleepy, making her smile. He got to sleep all day here and he was still tired at the end of the day. Before she answered, she glanced up at the clock. 5:15 PM. "Never mind. I'll let you sleep," she whispered, evacuating her seat and making her way towards the door.

_Aerith?_

His voice made her pause, startled that she could still hear him without contact. Glancing back at him, she was slightly surprised to still see his eyes closed, no change in his heart pattern, no twitching or muscle spasms to hint that he was awake. Hesitantly, she asked, "Yeah?"

_You should sell your flowers….in a flower wagon. You could fill Midgar with flowers._

She stood frozen in the doorway of room 781, unable to respond. It was there, in the doorway of room 781, talking and listening to a man who was in coma, wondering why she was there, that she realized the most essential and equally horrifying revelation:

She was in love with a SOLDIER.

_Aerith?_

Her gaze snapped back to his face. "Yeah," she asked, her voice breaking.

_Will you come back?_

"As long as you want me to," she answered, and walked out.


	5. Chapter 5 Banora Apples

Ch. 5 Banora Apples

A man with red hair stood in room 781, his back to the door, looking down at the man lying on the bed. Pity and remorse filled him at the site of the 1st class SOLDIER lying there, comatose. He had hoped that it wouldn't have come down to this, but he had offered him every option, every chance.

And he had been turned down at every turn.

The man sighed, craving to summon his sword and accomplish the dirty deed then and there. But his hands remained empty. Annoyed, he started to pace beside the bed, his long, red coat billowing behind him. "_My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow No matter where the winds may blow."_

"Loveless again, Genesis? You haven't changed."

Genesis turned to the door, not at all startled to see his old friend there, his face as emotionless as ever. His black, shoulder-length hair was brushed back from his face and the handle of his Buster sword peeked over his shoulder. His gray eyes met Genesis's. Genesis turned away, scowling. "Angeal. What are you doing here?"

Angeal walked into the room, arms crossed as he made his way to the other side of the bed, keeping his eyes focused on his trainee. "I came to make sure you didn't hurt him."

Genesis looked down at the sleeping man, fidgeting with a Banora apple in his hands. "Ah, yes. Zack the Puppy. Don't worry, I won't. I'll leave that task to you."

Angeal nodded, his eyes focused on Genesis, watching as his old friend made his way towards the door. Genesis looked back at him, his grey eyes hard. "_My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess._"

Angeal returned his friend's gaze steadily. "_My soul, corrupted by vengeance Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey In my own salvation And your eternal slumber," _he finished.

Nodding, the red haired man walked out of the room, saying over his shoulder, "Very good. _Even if the morrow is barren of promises Nothing shall forestall my return_."

A Banora apple lay on the bed next to Zack's arm, standing out against the pristine hospital sheets. The leaf on the stem was brown with age, crumpled and worn. But the skin was purple with youth.

Aerith stood in the doorway of 781, frozen at the sight of a man with a gigantic sword strapped to his back standing next to the bed, his back to her. His shoulder length hair concealed his face, but she was able to hear him whispering, "_There is no hate, only joy, For you are beloved by the goddess, Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds_."

She blinked and he was there next to her, strutting out the door. She wasn't able to catch a glimpse of his face. The man stopped slightly behind her. "Take care of him," he said, his deep voice booming in the small space.

Then he was gone, leaving her to stare at the spot where he had stood a moment ago, next to the bed. A strange colored apple sat on the bed near Zack's arm and she walked over to it, skirting around the chair. Picking up the apple, the back of her fingers brushed his hand, causing a flash of warmth to rush through her.

_Aerith?_

She went rigid at hearing the desperation in his voice and immediately grabbed his hand. "I'm here, Zack. I'm here."

_Who…who was that?_

Glancing toward the empty doorway, she frowned, wondering how he knew that someone had been here. "You mean the man with the huge sword strapped to his back? I have no idea."

_That's Angeal. But did you see the other guy?_

Her head swiveled back to look at the sleeping man, her frown deepening, her eyebrows furrowing. She shook her head, then remembered that he wouldn't be able to see that. "No, I didn't. He was gone when I got here."

_He left something here, didn't he?_

How could he possibly know that, she pondered, looking down at the apple in her hand. How? "He left an apple here, but it's a kind I've never seen before. It's purple."

_It's a Banora apple. The man, Genesis, sees it as a gift of the goddess._

"I heard Angeal whispering to you when I came in. Did you hear what he said?"

_Yeah, it's from Loveless. Genesis recited some too. The quote he read…it was as if he was mocking me by reminding me of the situation I'm in. But Angeal….it was as if he was apologizing for putting me in this situation. I don't know. _

Disappointed, she walked over to the window, not looking at him. Looking down at the city below, all she saw was gray. It matched how she felt inside right now. She asked quietly, keeping her voice steady, "So you were able to hear them?"

_Of course. I can hear all of you._

"But nobody can hear you?"

_Nope. Nobody but you._

She heard the smile in his voice and one blossomed on her lips. A few moments of silence settled between them until she finally worked up her courage to ask him the question that had been bugging her. "Zack, can I ask you something?"

_Absolutely._

She licked her suddenly dry lips. "Why don't you come back?"

"Come back where?" a voice interrupted.

Startled, Aerith turned to the door, surprised to see Cissnei standing there. She flushed, embarrassed that she had been caught talking to the woman's boyfriend. The red head stood, there waiting for an answer. "Sorry," Aerith replied, "I was thinking out loud."

Cissnei looked at her, as if studying her, before nodding and turned to look at Zack. She made her way slowly to the chair and collapsed into it, looking worn and tired; the lights overhead highlighting the dark shadows under her eyes. She wore the same suit that all the Turks did, even though hers contained several wrinkles. As if she hadn't changed out of it.

Aerith blushed, suddenly realizing that the red head would probably want to be alone with Zack for a while and swiftly scurried to the door. As she was about to walk out, she saw Cissnei turn towards her out of the corner of her eye. Pausing, she looked over at the woman, waiting. Cissnei whispered quietly, "Tifa was looking for you. She said that if you had time, she would like it if you could go see her at her work."

"Where does she work?"

"7th Heaven."

Aerith nodded, having absolutely no idea where that was. She turned away and walked out.

_Aerith._

The woman froze, her back going rigid. Not wanting to draw attention to herself in the busy hallway, she didn't answer. But he knew she was listening.

_I won't come back. Not until everything's been fixed. Not until everything's been arranged._

Disappointment flickered in her breast but she stuffed it away. She didn't answer, didn't acknowledge that she'd heard him. Just hurried to the elevator, trying to ignore the hollowness in her chest.


End file.
